I have a light fixture in my kitchen on a two-way switch. If the light has been off for a while (like first thing in the morning) it will often turn on when I hit the switch. However, if I turn it off again for any reason, it will NOT turn on again for love or money. If I leave the switch in the on position, sometimes the light will magically turn back on 30 minutes or an hour later, sometimes not. There are CFL bulbs in the fixture, and sometimes when the light switch is on but the light is not, I’ll see occasional flashes from the CFL bulbs, like they’re trying to turn on.
What the hell is going on here? Is the wiring loose? Is there something obvious that I’m missing?
maybe the switch is bad. switches malfunction and deteriorate.
i’ve seen plenty of intermittent switches in 3 and 4 way types. don’t use bargain switches, get something middle priced (a few dollars) and even then you get lemons.
I would pull the switch and make sure the wires are tight. If they are, then replace the switch. If that doesn’t work, pull the fixture and make sure the wiring is tight there.
I would also leave the light off until you get this figured out or at least not leave the switch on if the lights are not coming on. If power if just trickling through due to a bad connection, there could be a risk of it overheating and causing a fire.
Was either switch replaced recently? Because sometimes do-it-yourselfers will inadvertently replace a three-way switch with a regular one, or not wire it correctly causing the switches to behave like that. The brand new computer room where I used to work had three entrances and consequently three sets of light switches. But the contractors who wired it apparently didn’t know that you need to use a four-way switch in this case and instead only used three-ways. Consequently the switches worked messed up like you describe.
Fluorescent bulbs are notorious for this. The fixture in my utility room required the double switch trick (on, off wait 5 seconds on) for 18 months. I was stubborn and wouldn’t replace the old bulb until it refused to light at all.
My fixture doesn’t have a starter, (most newer ones don’t). So you’re at the fickle mercy of the self starting bulb,
Thanks for all the replies so far. I hadn’t thought about the CFL bulb maybe being the problem. I’ll definitely try replacing it with an incandescent bulb before I start replacing switches.
Speaking of replacing the switches and/or fixture (to be honest both the fixture and switch are pretty beat-up looking), how hard is rewiring a new fixture and switch for a complete electric newbie? Or is it worth it to just hire an electrician to come in and do it for me?
On a more serious note, as filmore says, AS LONG AS you absolutely know that the power is off, and that no one is allowed to touch the breaker, then replacing fixtures or light switches normally aren’t bad. However, if the wire is old and stiff (wouldn’t that be nice, if everything got stiffer with age), it could be a little harder.
I am 63 - I learned to wire and re-wire household electrical circuits back when putting a penny in the fuse box was still a known “fix” for a circuit which kept blowing fuses.
I bought a house built in 1919 and had exactly one circuit on modern (1950’s) wiring - and even it was still on a fuse box.
You have google and access to enough videos to build a house from the ground up if desired.
It’s not like dealing with knob and tube wiring (hey kids! Google “knob and tube wiring” - see how Grandad wired his house!).
The doorbell transformer is still on K&T - I left that for the new kids to deal with (I also hid it behind sheetrock - I am the only person in the world who knows where that is buried).
The wiring diagram for the switch is usually printed on the box - go to a real hardware store and buy switches in boxes.
First - try the incandescent - if they solve the problem, either stock up on incandescents or replace BOTH switches.
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This is the second time recently (don’t remember the last thread but it was a month or two ago) that somebody has blamed malfunctioning switches on CFLs, if they are indeed talking about CFLs and not regular fluorescents (but it sounds like CFLs); I can’t possibly see how that would make any difference, if anything, incandescents would be MORE likely to make a faulty switch misbehave since they draw a lot more current, unless it is some sort of really fancy triac-controlled switch. I’ve never had any CFLs misbehave such that you needed to turn the power off and then on again, maybe regular fluorescents without starters, but CFLs have electronic circuitry that pretty much guarantees that they come on (either that, or the circuitry blows up, unless it is a more sophisticated version based on an IC chip).
